Speed, smoke, and disputed surprise at Vienna's bridge

The claim that Soviet boats surprised the Imperial Bridge's defenders is questioned because the river approach offered a long view of the attackers. Strategic surprise is considered possible, while the proposed explanation for the immediate success is that the landings beat the defenders' command-and-control response. A quoted top speed of 19 knots for the armoured boats limits how much can be attributed to sheer speed. Smoke concealed precise movements, but it could also warn defenders to fire machine guns or mortars into the obscured approach. This interpretation credits the timing of the landings without assuming that the boats went unseen. The First Guards Armoured Boat Detachment received the Order of Kutuzov, second class, for the action.